is a Japanese

manga Manga ( Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is ...

series written by

Ikki Kajiwara , known by the pen names and , was a Japanese author, manga writer, and film producer. He is known for the work about sports and martial arts, with images of heroic young men with the occasional fine details as he moves from one topic to anoth ...

and illustrated by Naoki Tsuji. The series was first published in

Kodansha is a Japanese privately-held publishing company headquartered in Bunkyō, Tokyo. Kodansha is the largest Japanese publishing company, and it produces the manga magazines ''Nakayoshi'', '' Afternoon'', '' Evening'', ''Weekly Shōnen Magazine'' ...

's ''Bokura Magazine'' from 1968 to 1970 and was later published in ''

Weekly Shōnen Magazine is a weekly ''shōnen'' manga anthology published on Wednesdays in Japan by Kodansha, first published on March 17, 1959. The magazine is mainly read by an older audience, with a significant portion of its readership falling under the male hig ...

'' from 1970 to 1971. It was later adapted into an anime series by

Toei Animation () is a Japanese animation studio primarily controlled by its namesake Toei Company. It has produced numerous series, including ''Sally the Witch,'' '' GeGeGe no Kitarō,'' '' Mazinger Z'', '' Galaxy Express 999'', '' Cutie Honey'', '' Dr. Slu ...

which first aired on

Yomiuri TV JOIX-DTV (channel 10), branded as , is the Kansai region flagship station of the Nippon News Network and the Nippon Television Network System, owned by the subsidiary of the eponymous Yomiuri Shimbun Holdings, Japan's largest media conglomer ...

TV Asahi JOEX-DTV (channel 5), branded as (also known as EX and and stylized as TV asahi), is a television station that is owned and operated by the subsidiary of certified broadcasting holding company , itself controlled by The Asahi Shimbun Comp ...

on October 2, 1969 and ended its run on September 30, 1971, airing 105 episodes. In real life, the name has been used by a succession of

Japanese professional wrestling Professional wrestling in Japan has existed for many years. The first Japanese to involve himself in catch wrestling, the basis of traditional professional wrestling, was former sumo wrestler Sorakichi Matsuda. There were subsequent attempts before ...

characters as a

gimmick A gimmick is a novel device or idea designed primarily to attract attention or increase appeal, often with little intrinsic value. When applied to retail marketing, it is a unique or quirky feature designed to make a product or service "stand ou ...

. The Tiger Mask persona is instantly recognizable by its trademark mask, designed to look like a tiger's head, as well as the combination of high flying attacks and martial arts in the ring.

Plot

Tiger Mask, whose real name was Naoto Date, was a feared

heel The heel is the prominence at the posterior end of the foot. It is based on the projection of one bone, the calcaneus or heel bone, behind the articulation of the bones of the lower leg. Structure To distribute the compressive forces exer ...

wrestler in America who was extremely vicious in the ring. However, he became a

face The face is the front of an animal's head that features the eyes, nose and mouth, and through which animals express many of their emotions. The face is crucial for human identity, and damage such as scarring or developmental deformities may aff ...

after returning to Japan when a young boy said that he wanted to be a villain like Tiger Mask when he grew up. The boy resided in an orphanage, the same one that Tiger Mask grew up in during his childhood. Feeling that he did not want the boy to idolize a villain, Tiger was inspired to be a heroic wrestler. The main antagonist in the manga and anime was the Tiger's Den, a mysterious organization that trained young people to be villainous wrestlers on the condition that they gave half of their earnings to the organization. Tiger Mask was once a member of the Tiger's Den under the name "Yellow Devil", but no longer wanted anything to do with them, instead donating his money to the orphanage. This infuriated the leader of the organization and he sent numerous assassins, including other professional wrestlers, to punish him. In , a new opponent called "Outer Space Mask" bullies his way into the ring without representing any wrestling federation. Tatsuo Aku, once an orphan child from the "house of the children", was a fan of Naoto, who has died. He would put on his old hero's mask to become the new Tiger Mask.

Characters

Tiger Mask and his comrades

; / * Voiced by:

Kei Tomiyama , better known by his stage name , was a Japanese actor, voice actor, and narrator born in Anshan, Manchukuo. Tomiyama was affiliated with Aoni Production and Production Baobab. Tomiyama is best known for his roles in ''Tiger Mask'' (Naoto Date/T ...

Katsuji Mori is a Japanese actor, voice actor and narrator from Tokyo. He is most known for the roles of Go Mifune ('' Mach GoGoGo''), Joe Shimamura/009 (''Cyborg 009'' 960s, Ken the Eagle (''Science Ninja Team Gatchaman''), Jouji Minami ('' Tekkaman: The ...

(ep. 32~39) ; / * Voiced by: Ryouichi Tanaka ; / * Voiced by:

Kazuya Tatekabe was a Japanese actor and voice actor. He was born in Kimobetsu, Hokkaidō. He was represented by Kenyu Horiuchi's Kenyu Office at the time of his death. He was most known for the roles of Jaian (''Doraemon''), Walsa ('' Time Bokan''), and Tonzu ...

; * Voiced by: Yonehiko Kitagawa ; * Voiced by:

Shingo Kanemoto was a Japanese actor and voice actor originally from Fukuoka Prefecture. On February 24, 1991, he died of intra-axial hematoma at the age of 58. After his death, his ongoing roles went to Takeshi Watabe. Filmography *''Space Battleship Yamato II ...

Chibikko House

; * Voiced by:

Kenji Nakagawa Kenji may refer to: *Kenji (given name), a masculine Japanese given name, and list of people & characters with this name *Kenji (era), a Japanese era spanned from 1275 to 1278 * ''Kenji'' (manga) (拳児), a 1980s manga by Matsuda Ryuchi * "Kenji" ...

; * Voiced by:

Nana Yamaguchi is a Japanese actress and voice actress represented by Aoni Production. Some of her major roles are Sally's mom and Sumire in the original ''Sally the Witch'' series, Furu-Furu in ''Majokko Megu-chan'', and Queen Sayuri Kinniku in ''Kinnikuman'' ...

(ep. 1~77),

Michiko Nomura is a Japanese actress and voice actress. Career Nomura was previously affiliated with Tokyo Actor's Consumer's Cooperative Society, then Aoni Production and now she is affiliated with Ken Production, an agency founded by the late Kenji Utsumi. ...

(ep. 78~105) ; * Voiced by: Masako Nozawa ; * Voiced by:

Masako Taki Masako (written: , , or in hiragana) is a feminine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: * *, (1888–1940), 6th daughter of Emperor Meiji *, Japanese long-distance runner * Masako Ebisu (born 1945), Japanese voice actress * ...

(ep. 1~55),

Noriko Watanabe is a Japanese actress and singer. She won the award for best supporting actress at the 8th Yokohama Film Festival for '' His Motorbike, Her Island''. Filmography See also * Hiroko Yakushimaru *Tomoyo Harada is a Japanese actress, singer, ...

(ep. 56~105) ; * Voiced by:

Sachiko Chijimatsu is a Japanese actress, voice actress and narrator from Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. She is most known for the roles of Pyonkichi ('' Dokonjō Gaeru''), Nobita's Mama (''Doraemon''), Kabu ('' Sally, the Witch'' 1966), Shippona (''Himitsu no Akko-ch ...

; * Voiced by:

Keiko Yamamoto , born August 7, 1943, is a Japanese voice actress from Osaka Prefecture. Many of her roles have been older women, young boys, or tomboyish young girls. Filmography Anime television series * Akado Suzunosuke – Akadō Suzunosuke * Andersen ...

; * Voiced by:

Kazuko Sugiyama , known by her stage name , is a Japanese actress and voice actress who was born in Nagoya and works for Aoni Production. In February 2010, she received a "Merit Award" from the 4th Seiyu Awards. Filmography Anime *Hanako Mori in '' Inakappe ...

; * Voiced by:

Reiko Katsura Voice acting in Japan is an industry where actors provide voice-overs as characters or narrators in media including anime, video games, audio dramas, commercials, and dubbing for non-Japanese films and television programs. In Japan, and a ...

Tiger's Den

; * Voiced by:

Hidekatsu Shibata is a Japanese actor, voice actor and narrator from Asakusa, Tokyo who is affiliated with Aoni Production. He was a classmate of former prime minister Yasuo Fukuda at Azabu High School. Shibata is married to fellow voice actor Akiko Sekine. He ...

Mister X is the main

antagonist An antagonist is a character in a story who is presented as the chief foe of the protagonist. Etymology The English word antagonist comes from the Greek ἀνταγωνιστής – ''antagonistēs'', "opponent, competitor, villain, enemy, ri ...

of the series. ; / / * Voiced by: Taimei Suzuki The Boss is the leader of the Tiger's Den. He makes his first appearance disguised as the unbelievably strong fighter Miracle 3, the only fighter with total supremacy in the three fundamental abilities: strength, speed and illegal moves. Miracle 3 wins every fight in a clear and correct way, studying Tiger Mask's style against some fighters chosen by him. When he finally fights with Tiger Mask, he reassumes his old name: Tiger the Great. ; * Voiced by: Yonehiko Kitagawa ; * Voiced by:

; * Voiced by: Masao Nakasone The third master of the Tiger's Den. He was considered the strongest fighter ever. He was forced to retire because nobody was capable to fight him on an even basis. Adding to his considerable technique, King Tiger is the absolute master of illegal moves. His fight with Tiger Mask rapidly escalates to a real bloodbath.

Other characters

;TV announcer * Voiced by:

Keiichi Noda is a Japanese actor, voice actor and narrator from Yamaguchi Prefecture. He is affiliated with Aoni Production. His real name is . He is most known for the roles of Tetsuya Tsurugi in ''Great Mazinger'', Gantsu Sensei in '' Ganbare!! Robocon'' a ...

Ring announcer and narrator.

''Tiger Mask II'' characters

Publication history

The manga was originally created for the '' Bokura Magazine'' in 1968 by

and

Naoki Tsuji Naoki (直樹) is a masculine Japanese given name and surname. Notable people with the name include: *, Japanese long jumper * Naoki Bandou, voice actor * Naoki Harada (原田直樹, born 1991), Japanese footballer *, Japanese footballer *Naoki H ...

. The manga would be reprinted by

comics, and made available in

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a List of cities in China, city and Special administrative regions of China, special ...

. Further versions include Sankei Comics and the Kodansha KC Special. The anime would be televised nationally in Japan, while two movies would be constructed from reusing footage of the series. Most of the environment and characters were fictional, but real-life pro wrestlers like

Antonio Inoki Muhammad Hussain Inoki (born ; February 20, 1943 – October 1, 2022) was a Japanese professional wrestler, martial artist, politician, and promoter of professional wrestling and mixed martial arts. He was best known by the ring name , a homage ...

Giant Baba , best known by his ring name , was a Japanese professional wrestler, promoter, and professional baseball player. He is best known as a co-founder of All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), a promotion he founded in 1972 along with Mitsuo Momota ...

Michiaki Yoshimura Michiaki (written: 倫明, 道明, 道章, 道秋 or 宙明) is a masculine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: * (born 1972), Japanese voice actor * (born 1977), Japanese footballer * (1890–1947), Imperial Japanese Navy a ...

Kintaro Ohki Kim Il (Korean: 김일; Hanja: 金一; February 24, 1929 – October 26, 2006), also known as his ring name Kintarō Ōki (Japanese: 大木金太郎), was a South Korean professional wrestler, and Ssireum (Korean wrestling) player. He spent his ...

and

Seiji Sakaguchi is a Japanese retired professional wrestler and judoka, Sakaguchi holds a 7th dan red and white belt in Judo. Sakaguchi was a mainstay of New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) and also competed for the World Wide Wrestling Federation and the Nati ...

were included in the manga and anime as well. On March 3, 2016,

New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion based in Nakano, Tokyo. Founded on January 13, 1972, by Antonio Inoki, the promotion was sold to Yuke's, who later sold it to Bushiroad in 2012. TV Asahi and Amuse, Inc. own minority sha ...

announced the revival of the Tiger Mask anime series. The series, entitled ''

Tiger Mask W is a ''Tiger Mask'' anime series which premiered on October 2, 2016, with 38 episodes. It has a mix of 2D and 3D CGI animation. It is a sequel of the original anime, whereas '' Tiger Mask II'' is only considered a parallel universe. Plot ...

'', premiered on

in October 2016. It is also currently streaming on

Crunchyroll Crunchyroll is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned by Sony through a joint venture between Sony Pictures and Sony Music Entertainment Japan's Aniplex. The service primarily distributes films and t ...

, marking it as the first Tiger Mask anime available to American viewers. This new series is the exclusive sequel of the anime version and completely ignores ''Tiger Mask II'', which confirms Naoto Date's death like in the manga. In fact, his death isn't confirmed.

Adaptations

Films

The movies were titled as such in English when exported outside Japan. They are not actual translations.

Video games

While the Tiger Mask character has appeared in a number of wrestling video games, such as '' Fire Pro Wrestling D'', '' Toukon Retsuden 3'', '' Sunday vs Magazine: Shūketsu! Chōjō Daikessen'' and ''

Virtual Pro Wrestling 64 ''Virtual Pro Wrestling 64'' is a professional wrestling video game released in 1997 on the Nintendo 64 game console and the second game in the '' Virtual Pro Wrestling'' series. The game is a sequel to the original '' Virtual Pro Wrestling'' rel ...

'', the games are not directly based on the story of the manga or anime.

Cultural influences

In the early 1980s, the bookers in the New Japan Pro-Wrestling promotion licensed the character and created a real-life

Tiger Mask is a Japanese manga series written by Ikki Kajiwara and illustrated by Naoki Tsuji. The series was first published in Kodansha's ''Bokura Magazine'' from 1968 to 1970 and was later published in ''Weekly Shōnen Magazine'' from 1970 to ...

, originally portrayed by

Satoru Sayama (born November 27, 1957) is a Japanese professional wrestler, mixed martial artist, MMA and wrestling promoter and writer, best known as the original Tiger Mask. He has wrestled under his real name as well as the names Sammy Lee, and masked ...

, to help boost their junior heavyweight division. In 2010 and 2011, several people in Japan

donated A donation is a gift for charity, humanitarian aid, or to benefit a cause. A donation may take various forms, including money, alms, services, or goods such as clothing, toys, food, or vehicles. A donation may satisfy medical needs such as bl ...

to children's homes and other social welfare centers by using the name "Naoto Date" as an alias. In 2012 an Israeli artist named Omer Rabinovitz recorded a fictional song over the series opening sequence renaming it 'Namer HaKesef' ("The Silver/Money Leopard"), reaching over 400 thousand views on Youtube and becoming a cult phenomenon in Israel. Fictional episodes created independently by the community, and a Minecraft skin was also created. In ''

Ben 10 Alien Force ''Ben 10: Alien Force'' is an American animated television series created by team Man of Action (a group consisting of Duncan Rouleau, Joe Casey, Joe Kelly, and Steven T. Seagle), and produced by Cartoon Network Studios. It takes place five ...

'', Rath is a tiger-like alien who uses wrestling moves on his foes. Similarly, both characters were also vicious at first but then turned good after meeting a small child.

In video games

In the ''

Tekken is a Japanese media franchise centered on a series of fighting video and arcade games developed and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment (formerly Namco). The franchise also includes film and print adaptations. The main games in the series ...

'' video game series, a character named

King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen regnant, queen, which title is also given to the queen consort, consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contempora ...

shares similarities with Tiger Mask, except his mask is that of a jaguar rather than a tiger. ''

Street Fighter II is a fighting game developed by Capcom and originally released for arcades in 1991. It is the second installment in the '' Street Fighter'' series and the sequel to 1987's '' Street Fighter''. It is Capcom's fourteenth game to use the CP S ...

'', in its early concept design stages, had a very similar homage to Tiger Mask in its character roster. In the video game series ''

Hotline Miami ''Hotline Miami'' is a top-down shooter video game by Jonatan Söderström and Dennis Wedin, collectively known as Dennaton Games. The game was published by Devolver Digital and released on 23 October 2012 for Microsoft Windows. Set in 1989 Mi ...

'', there is a tiger mask that when equipped, allows you throw devastating punches when unarmed. This may be a reference to Tiger Mask. In the '' Yo-Kai Watch'' game series, a yokai named Machonyan wears a tiger mask. ''

Pokémon Sun and Moon and are 2016 role-playing video games developed by Game Freak and published by The Pokémon Company and Nintendo for the Nintendo 3DS. They are the first installments in the seventh generation of the ''Pokémon'' video game series. First a ...

'' introduced Incineroar, the "Heel Pokémon," displaying elements of both a tiger and a wrestler. It is also a playable character in ''

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate ''Super Smash Bros. Ultimate'' is a 2018 crossover fighting video game developed by Bandai Namco Studios and Sora Ltd. and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Switch. It is the fifth installment in the '' Super Smash Bros.'' series, succeed ...

''.

References

External links

*
Tiger Mask movie Japanese
{{Toei Animation films 1968 manga 1969 anime television series debuts 1971 Japanese television series endings 1981 anime television series debuts 1982 Japanese television series endings Ikki Kajiwara Kodansha manga Manga adapted into films Martial arts anime and manga Professional wrestling comics Shōnen manga Shunsuke Kikuchi Toei Animation television TV Asahi original programming Wrestling in anime and manga Yomiuri Telecasting Corporation original programming Television series about tigers Gekiga Japanese sports drama films